leading lady is 22 and she looks it I cannot complain about "Blood and Lace" because it's a cheesy horror film--it unabashedly is and sometimes this sort of movie is fun to watch. My complaint is that although the setup for the film is great, the ending was just plain awful.The film begins with a woman and her lover being bludgeoned with a hammer and then the house begin set ablaze. Yes, there is lots of blood, but because it's done so slowly and ineptly, it's really not that tough a scene to watch. Next, the dead woman's teenage daughter is taken by a cop (Vic Tayback) to social services. The caseworker (Milton Seltzer) is a very hands-off guy--and he puts her in a home for orphans run by a deranged lady (Gloria Graham). She and her nutty assistant are killing off teens and shoving them in a freezer--and our little orphan might just be next.Now the above description, for a cheesy horror film, is GREAT. So what's the problem? Well, the ending looks like it was just tacked on, as Tayback returns and then gives a LONG and rather inept exposition to explain everything that has happened in the film. And, to make it worse, he then drops a really weird bombshell. What is it? See the film...I'd hate to ruin this surprise that comes completely from left field!! Overall, this is a rather bad film I wanted to like. Mostly because the ending was just stupid and incomplete. See it for yourself and let me know what you think about the ending....it is quite SPECIAL.And, by the way, if you think 'that teenager looks awfully old', you are right--the 'teen' was 22.

Blood and Lace (1971) ** 1/2 (out of 4) This AIP thriller is one of the nastiest films you're ever going to see that got a GP rating. It really makes you wonder what the MPAA members were smoking at the time of watching this. After her prostitute mother and a client are brutally beaten to death with a hammer, teenager Ellie (Melody Patterson) goes to live at a boarding house ran by the rather sadistic Mrs. Deere (Gloria Grahame). Soon Ellie begins to fear that the man who killed her mother is now after her. BLOOD AND LACE is a pretty nasty little film that plays out more like a Hitchcock thriller than just a straight horror film. The film features some pretty memorable violence, some great performances and an all around good atmosphere, which helps overcome the flaws and make it worth viewing. What surprised me the most was how brutal some of the violence was starting off with the hammer deaths. Now, we're not talking SAW material but for 1971 it's pretty strong. There's also another scene where a boy gets his hand cut off, which looked very realistic and it's certainly something one won't forget. The performances are also great with former Oscar-winner Grahame really doing a great job in the role of one of the villains. I thought she played evil with a certain charm that really made it a fun performance to watch. Patterson is completely sympathetic in her role and she has no problem making you care about her. Len Lesser is fun as another one of the bad guys and there's even a young performance from Dennis Christopher. The film also features some beautiful cinematography, a nice music score and the atmosphere is quite dark and you can feel the coldness of the freezer that plays an important role in the film. I won't give away the ending but the final ten-minutes contain some nice suspense and great fun. BLOOD AND LACE has pretty much been forgotten over the years but it's a good little thriller that has a lot of strong stuff going for it.

Great premise. Troubled teen goes to group home that mistreats children. Disappointingly, the movie has so many scenes that lack realism and common sense that the movie is totally unbelievable. The overriding discrepancy occurs when our heroine, Ellie, finds a girl tied up in the attic who is thirsty and starving. But when she has a chance to tell her detective friend who can help her, Ellie neglects to report that a girl is dying in the attic. This, in spite of the fact that she is rebellious, unhappy, and wants to leave. Instead, she tells the cop she is sure there have been many runaways! That scene alone ruined the movie for me, but there were other discrepancies. For example, after the custodian chops off a runaway's hand, he keeps it in a visible suitcase in a room that the kids have to clean. Also, when the woman who runs the group home finds out about an inspection, she moves 3 dead bodies covered in sheets from a walk-in freezer in order to find a better hiding spot. Of course, an unlocked room is the best spot! The 3 dead kids with dead-white complexion, bleeding gashes, and bloody sheets are laid on beds and not even covered! At one point, our main character, Ellie, walks into this room and proceeds to question the dead corpses; never realizing that they are bloodied stiffs! In another hole in logic, some of the kids during the dinner-table scene speak of the place as if it wasn't so bad. This, in spite of 3 missing "runaways" and hello! ... a girl tied up in the attic! You would think at least one of them would have been close enough to care what happened to the 3 "runaways" or the poor sod in the attic! Of comical value, most of the "kids" in the home are well into their 20's and at the time of the movie, the character Bunch, who was supposed to be 16, was actually 24! Finally, the monster at the end of the movie looks like a guy with a rubber mask over his head. Not scary, just laughable. In conclusion, while some of the acting, the production, and the premise are good, the movie is burdened and ruined by a dumb and totally unbelievable script. 4.5 out of 10

For those who love trash, this movie has everything! From its lurid, brutal double murder sequence at the opening (love that hammer-cam!), "Blood and Lace" is an entirely unforgettable film. I first saw it as a kid and was amazed at how terribly nasty and cheap it all was. Seeing it as an adult was even better. Everything about this film, from its acting to its writing, is fabulously over-the-top and kitschy. There are numerous ludicrous plot twists, and the sheer insanity of the set-up (nefarious orphanage management makes money by killing the orphans, keeping them frozen and then, when inspectors show up, explain that the kids just aren't feeling well as a cover) is so incredulously bizarre it makes you wonder which brand of glue the screenwriters were sniffing when they came up with this. I love it!